Vitalik Buterin Proposes Removing Ethereum's Modexp Precompile Over ZK Proof Bottlenecks

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed eliminating the modular exponentiation precompile (modexp), a feature he originally designed. The precompile creates verification bottlenecks up to 50 times worse than standard operations during zero-knowledge proof generation, Buterin stated on X. The proposal aims to address technical obstacles hindering adoption of zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine infrastructure.